Five Rounds Has Ngannou changed since his loss to Miocic?

The UFC has loaded up another pay-per-view card, featuring two title fights: Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos and Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm. Also, the popular Ben Askren takes on Jorge Masvidal, with potential title implications on the line at 170 pounds.

UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos
• Saturday, July 6, Las Vegas
• Early prelims: ESPN+ 6:15 p.m. ET
• Prelims: ESPN 8 p.m. ET
• Main card: ESPN+ PPV 10 p.m. ET

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Here’s why I think we can safely say, however, that Ngannou has changed. First off, he’s lighter. We saw that change immediately. Ngannou weighed in at 263 pounds ahead of that title fight against Miocic. Since then, he hasn’t weighed in any higher than 258. This last one, he weighed 255.5. You can see it in his frame. He’s lean. And there’s no question in my mind that’s a good thing, for his speed and cardio.

He has also told me that he has had a healthier mindset since the Miocic loss (he has eliminated a lot of the pressure he put on himself), and just by reading his body language in and around fight week, I believe him. Whether he can deal with the wrestling of a Miocic or Daniel Cormier, I don’t know. But I do think there is reason to believe a lot has changed for Ngannou in the past two years.

Raimondi: It’s hard to argue that Ngannou has not gotten better since that loss to Miocic. That Ngannou had only 12 career fights and had never seen the second round in the UFC. There’s no doubt that this Ngannou is improved and one of the most dangerous heavyweight punchers we’ve seen in some time. The question is how much better. While the quick knockouts of Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez were impressive, Ngannou has yet to face a tactician the caliber of Miocic for any significant length of time. He can’t knock everyone out in the first round, right? Well, maybe he can. But he will likely fight someone of that ilk next. Then we’ll know for sure how far he has come.

Wagenheim: Ngannou does what Ngannou does. He will continue to do so until someone makes him rely on something other than those big fists of his. Stipe Miocic fought a strategic fight against “The Predator” last year, and if he gets in the Octagon with Ngannou again, he’ll likely pursue much the same game plan: Keep your distance, move, threaten a takedown and get the takedown. If it’s Daniel Cormier inside the cage when Ngannou gets his title shot, DC will probably look to do much the same as Stipe did. Can Francis stop it?

Since his loss to Micoc and his 15 minutes of sleepwalking against Derrick Lewis, Ngannou has fought two guys who have the wrestling chops to take him to the canvas — Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez — and neither lasted a minute before going night-night. That doesn’t necessarily prove that he has honed his defensive wrestling game. But it does tell us that the thunder in Ngannou’s hands is a trusty antidote for whatever comes his way.

Will Henry Cejudo’s next fight be against Benavidez at flyweight or a different opponent at bantamweight?

Okamoto: You know what? I think it actually will be Benavidez. Can you believe it? I did not see this coming. I thought the flyweight division was a wrap, guys. I really did. I’m still not entirely convinced of its long-term future. But as of Saturday, June 29, 2019, I think Cejudo vs. Benavidez II will happen. As it should.

I cannot stress enough how impressed I’ve been with Benavidez the past six years. Benavidez has pretty much always been the No. 1 contender at 125 pounds. No one suffered more from Demetrious Johnson’s dominance than Benavidez. Benavidez fought the toughest competition flyweight had to offer, beat nearly every single one of them and knew the entire time that he wouldn’t get a title shot because of losses to Johnson in 2012 and 2013. How one stays motivated through that is a mystery to me.

Benavidez deserves the shot. He holds a win over Cejudo from 2016. The rematch should happen, and I’m happy to say I think it will.

Raimondi: Benavidez should be next after his TKO of Formiga. There’s no doubt about it. “Deserved” is a tenuous word in MMA, but no one deserves this more than Benavidez, who has paid his dues and already owns a win over Cejudo. It should absolutely be at flyweight, the division Benavidez has held down from its inception in the UFC. “Joe B” should get one more crack at the title in a division in which he has been excellent for so long.

That said, I have a hard time imagining him cutting back down to flyweight after his return from shoulder surgery, perhaps as late as next year. Cejudo was never a big fan of the weight cut, and now he’s the bantamweight champion. If Benavidez is to fight him again, he might have to chase Cejudo up to 135.

Wagenheim: The world is Cejudo’s oyster right now. He owns two UFC belts, and rumor has it he once won an Olympic gold medal. Everybody lighter than Butterbean wants to fight him. So, yeah, he has options, but Option 1 should be a flyweight title defense against Benavidez, if for no other reason than that would give “The Messenger” an opportunity to shut up Joe and his stinging message that he is the last man to beat Henry. It would be a title shot well deserved for Benavidez — and poetic justice to boot. The flyweight division always seemed to have been invented for him. It was he, not Demetrious Johnson, who was favored to win the four-man tournament that, back in 2012, crowned the UFC’s first 125-pound champion. But Benavidez lost a split decision to “Mighty Mouse” in the final, then was KO’d by the champ a little over a year later, and that put him in no-man’s land. Now Johnson is gone, and the belt is in possession of a man he once defeated. It’s the perfect setup for Joe’s delayed reaction bid to claim the throne that was fitted for him in the first place.

Alonzo Menifield impressed with another KO. Is he — or someone else — your favorite rising light heavyweight?

Okamoto: Frankly, I love them all. Because if we’re being honest, this 205-pound division has felt old and thin for years. This new crop of talent is a drink of cool water, friends. You can say I’m exaggerating if you want, but it’s the truth. This division is arguably in the best shape it has been since about 2011, when Jon Jones won his first championship.

Okamoto: First off, allow me to say I don’t think Maia needs to retire anytime soon (if he decides he wants to continue). He’s 41 years old, but I believe he still beats at least 80% of UFC welterweights. He doesn’t take much damage. Yes, he lost three in a row recently, but those were to Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.

If Maia is ready to call it a day, though, obviously he has nothing more to prove. He has the second-most wins in UFC history. He can walk off with his head high. He mentioned Diego Sanchez, I’m good with that. I’d also be good with a rematch against Carlos Condit, if Condit were interested. Condit didn’t really put his best foot forward when they met in 2016.

Raimondi: This is a tough one because if it truly will be Maia’s last, you don’t want to risk killing a future contender. And no one is tougher on budding contenders than Maia, with his smothering Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I’m not sure how it would work matchmaking-wise, but the opponent I’d most like to see Maia face is Ben Askren. That stylistic clash — Maia’s grappling versus Askren’s wrestling — would be world-class.

The only problem is that Askren fights Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 next week and has bigger things afoot if he wins. If he loses, let’s do Askren vs. Maia. If he wins, maybe someone such as Randy Brown. It would be a good way to find out just how far Brown has come as a fighter. A win over Maia would vault Brown, but a loss wouldn’t do him much damage.

Wagenheim: If Demian Maia wants Diego Sanchez, as he said he does after his fight, he should get Diego Sanchez. Or if, after he has had time to reflect, he comes up with another name, that’s fine, too, as long as the name is not attached to a championship belt. After having spent 6 hours, 18 minutes, 12 seconds inside the Octagon — second-most in UFC history, behind Frankie Edgar’s 6:47:33 — Demian has earned the right to go out on his own terms. He’s not just about longevity, either. His 21 UFC victories are the second-most in the promotion, behind Donald Cerrone’s 23. Give the man the fight he wants.

As for what I want, I’m not interested in seeing Maia against a standup killer or a neutralizing wrestler. I want to watch him grapple one more time because that is a sublime experience. Can Sanchez give him that jiu-jitsu challenge? Unlikely. Who, then? Any way we can get Charles Oliveira or Gilbert Burns on a high-calorie diet that bulks one of them up a tad from lightweight? Or can we send Maia back to middleweight and go cross-promotional with Bellator for a bout with Rafael Lovato Jr.? OK, fine, Diego Sanchez it is.

Biggest surprise of the night?

Okamoto: I’m going with Amanda Ribas’ submission win against Emily Whitmire at strawweight. Ribas hadn’t fought since 2016, due to a failed drug test she said was caused by a contaminated supplement. That’s a long layoff to combat — and even though I don’t consider Whitmire a title challenger by any stretch (she’s young, and her game is still developing), she was in the process of putting together a nice, little run since last summer.

Raimondi: Just how good Amanda Ribas looked in beating Emily Whitmire by second-round, rear-naked choke submission. Ribas had not fought in more than three years and had never competed in the UFC, so she was a huge question coming in. The Brazilian prospect, just 25 years old, was touted by those around her, but it’s hard to know for sure, especially after a long layoff. Ribas’ judo and grappling looked like the real deal. It’s good to see her back after a two-year battle with USADA, which terminated her suspension last month after making some changes to its scientific approach on the prohibited substance ostarine.

I’m surprised that Swerdan didn’t stand Maia up while the Brazilian was resting on his stool between rounds.

Honorable mention goes to Nick Palmer, a judge in that fight, who scored it a draw after giving Martin a 10-8 third round. Admittedly, Maia did nothing in those five minutes — he threw just four punches, landing one — but it’s not like he was outright running. He was circling at distance, and Martin was unable to cut him off and unwilling to go at him. Give the round to Rocco, sure, but that fight was all Maia’s.